7 Easy Hacks to Eliminate Noise Disturbance

Noise is something that disrupts our peace at home. Be it the moving traffic, the playful kids on the floor above, next door home remodeling or the stereo blasting loud music, we all experience these excruciating times of annoyance. People staying in apartment units face this trouble often and they are always in the search of tricks and hacks to make their home/room be more peaceful and less disturbing. Now, not only that we can do this, we can also do it on a shoestring budget.

Ways to Get Rid of Noise Disturbance

1. Cheap and temporary draft blocking:

There are few soundproofing tips that can be used temporarily to dull down loud music from the next room. Cover the space under the door with thin quilts or sheets on either side to decrease the chances of noise from entering the room. Draft blocking works, but it is not practical to keep doing it on and off every day.

2. Seal openings on the door:

Intruding noise mostly comes through the cracks and gaps on the doors. Stopping the areas of air leakage on the doors can easily bring down the noise levels. Look for gaps in the doors of your apartment and if they are large, they should be taken care of. Install two door sweeps on either side of the door if it is possible for you. There are thick rubber seals that are available on the market. Apart from lessening noise levels, they also cease dust, insects, and moisture from entering the home through the door.

3. Get soundproof curtains:

There are also soundproof curtains that soak up any noise that comes through the door and windows. Install these curtains on the windows and door of the room you want to block the noise from entering. My balcony windows in myapartments in Pallavaram Radial Road have these blackout curtains for stopping the external noise from entering.

4. Handy acoustic panels:

There are also handy panels called acoustic panels that can be hung on the walls. These panels come in fabric material and also as boards. They inhibit the sound waves from bouncing off the surfaces and also stop them from entering the room from outside. They are great for use in casual jamming rooms and informal recording pads.

5. The calculated placing of textile:

Sound waves reflect on hard surfaces and that effect can make the noise sound louder than it already is. The only way to beat this effect is to use textiles in the right place. Cover exposed walls and ceilings with textile-like rubber textile mats and shag rugs respectively. This can help you to cut down voices from the unit next door if you are sharing a common wall. Hanging thick and shaggy hang-carpets on the wall can also decrease noise levels from behind the wall. In my gated community apartments in Chennai, there are no shared common walls between two units, so I do not go through this problem.

6. Install a faux built in:

Apartments with thin walls find it very hard to cease the external noise from creeping inside. Another trick that works great here is the installation of a faux built-in unit. A faux built-in in the form of a bookshelf can come in handy to keep books and other decor items close to the wall.

7. Use window inserts:

Some might not want to use blackout curtains on windows because they also block the view. In this case, the window insert panels can be used. Window inserts are see-through glass/acrylic panes that can be mounted on the windows. By creating a seal that is completely hermetic, they cut down noise levels considerably.